Characterization of Wnt Signaling Genes in Diaphorina citri

Authors: VOSBURG, CHAD - Indian River State College; REYNOLDS, MAX - Indian River State College; SHIPPY, TERESA - Kansas State University; NOEL, RITA - Indian River State College; HOSMANI, PRASHANT - Boyce Thompson Institute; FLORES-GONZALEZ, MIRELLA - Boyce Thompson Institute; MUELLER, LUKAS - Boyce Thompson Institute; Hunter, Wayne; BROWN, SUSAN - Kansas State University; D'ELIA, TOM - Indian River State College; SAHA, SURYA - University Of Arizona

Submitted to: Gigascience
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/9/2021
Publication Date: 6/9/2021
Citation: Vosburg, C., Reynolds, M., Shippy, T., Noel, R., Hosmani, P.S., Flores-Gonzalez, M., Mueller, L.A., Hunter, W.B., Brown, S.J., D'Elia, T., Saha, S. 2021. Characterization of Wnt Signaling Genes in Diaphorina citri. Gigascience. https://doi.org/10.46471/gigabyte.21.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.46471/gigabyte.21

Interpretive Summary: The Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri, is an insect vector that transmits Liberibacter asiaticus, the causal agent of the Huanglongbing, HLB, in citrus. To develop solutions to stop the spread of HLB a better understanding of the psyllid vector’s biology is needed. Therefore, we used the genome to characterize genes involved in Wingless-related integration site, Wnt, signaling pathways. Wnt regulates crucial aspects of cell fate, cell migration, movement, during development of nerves, organs, and embryos. Manual curation confirmed 24 Wnt signaling genes within the D. citri genome. Now this Wnt gene set can be used to develop gene-based control molecules to reduce and manage psyllid populations, to prevent the spread of HLB in citrus. Community annotation project (https://citrusgreening.org/annotation/index). The Citrus Greening Solutions Project (USDA-NIFA Award 2014-70016-23028)

Technical Abstract: Manual gene annotation for the Asian citrus psyllid genes proved essential for producing high quality gene datasets (Wingless-related integration site, Wnt) and cell interaction models. The Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri, is an insect vector that transmits Liberibacter asiaticus, the causal agent of the Huanglongbing, HLB, in citrus. To develop solutions to stop the spread of HLB a better understanding of the psyllid vector’s biology is needed. Therefore, manual gene annotation proved essential to accurately characterize psyllid genes involved in Wnt signaling pathways. Wnt regulates crucial aspects of cell fate determination, cell migration, cell polarity, neural patterning and organogenesis during embryonic development. Curation based on RNA sequencing data and sequence homology confirmed 24 Wnt signaling genes within the D. citri genome. The Wnt gene set is being used to develop gene-based control strategies, like ribonucleic acid interference, RNAi to reduce and manage psyllid populations, to prevent the spread of HLB in citrus. Community annotation project (https://citrusgreening.org/annotation/index). The Citrus Greening Solutions Project (USDA-NIFA Award 2014-70016-23028)